Liver donor incompatible

An appeal is going out once more for a compatible donor to help save the life of Sheenece Jackson.

The baby girl, who needs a liver transplant, suffered a setback this week when her parents, Sheldon and Lystra Jackson, were told by the doctors who had been testing a potential donor for the past month that he is not compatible.

Sheenece, 19 months old, who has biliary atresia, which causes cirrhosis of the liver, must have a transplant before she turns two in March next year.

Lystra said a donor was previously found and passed the compatibility test, but that donor’s blood type was not compatible with Sheenece’s.

Even though a doctor in Argentina said he would do the surgery with an incompatible donor, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh intervened in September and advised against it. Deyalsingh told the parents of the risks associated with doing the surgery with an incompatible donor and suggested they find a blood relative.

One of Sheldon’s relatives, with Sheenece’s blood type, O, came forward to give her a piece of his liver, and the process to determine compatibility started all over again last month

Seventeen tests had to be done, Lystra said, and all were coming back positive.

“But a deep scan of the liver was done and we were informed that his liver is fatty. That he is not compatible.

“Now we have to start the process all over again. We have to look for someone who will agree to do it for free, not for money. We have to spend two months with that person, male or female, so we all have to be comfortable.

The family is trying to be positive.

“We are disappointed, but we are not giving up hope. We are hoping and praying that something positive would come from all of this negative.”

Lystra, who is a perfect match for the transplant, is impeded by her weight.

“I have to lose 70 pounds first,” she said. “For the love of my daughter, I have started, with a goal to lose between 25 and 30 pounds per month. In three weeks, I have lost about 19 pounds. I have started a diet with no flour, no rice, no meat, and exercise twice per day.”

She said it is a sacrifice, but one she is willing to make to ensure her daughter has a chance to live.

“Thank God, she is doing well during the waiting process. She has gained a little weight, she is off her special milk, and the blood tests have been coming back positive. Only the liver works are negative.”

Sheldon and Lystra’s only hope is that a donor will be found in time to save their baby.

Donations to assist Sheenece can made at the First Citizens Neo account 2523650. Those wishing to help can also contact her mother at 751 4480.